My generation has unfortunately bought into the lie that young adulthood should be a time of intense self-centeredness. We believe that the best strategy is to whittle away our young and energetic (and fertile, by the way) years, pursuing only what immediately pleases us. We've decided that our twenties are a time for relaxation, vacation, and recreation. But this is the lifestyle of the old and the dying, not the young and the vibrant. We want to live like we're retired before we actually have anything to retire from. We are immature and narcissistic, so the idea of "wasting" our youth on a family is repulsive to us. We'd rather waste it on "fun."
Then out of nowhere a decade passes and the fun isn't so fun anymore. We haven't grown at all. We are still living like teenagers but we do not look like teenagers. We have dedicated our lives to empty things and now we feel empty. We have been treading water, afraid to actually swim in one direction or another, and now we are tired and there is no land in sight.
But there is good news. We are not in the position of many Baby Boomers who have lived shallow lives for 65 years, and today look around to find themselves alone and miserable and nearing death. We are still young and there is time to correct our course. We can finally enter the next stage of human life, put the ways of childhood behind, and find our purpose in giving rather than taking.
WALSH: Millennials Are Having A 'Quarter-Life Crisis'? Maybe It's Time To Get Married
Then out of nowhere a decade passes and the fun isn't so fun anymore. We haven't grown at all. We are still living like teenagers but we do not look like teenagers. We have dedicated our lives to empty things and now we feel empty. We have been treading water, afraid to actually swim in one direction or another, and now we are tired and there is no land in sight.
But there is good news. We are not in the position of many Baby Boomers who have lived shallow lives for 65 years, and today look around to find themselves alone and miserable and nearing death. We are still young and there is time to correct our course. We can finally enter the next stage of human life, put the ways of childhood behind, and find our purpose in giving rather than taking.
WALSH: Millennials Are Having A 'Quarter-Life Crisis'? Maybe It's Time To Get Married
